For those that know me, you know that I don't have any children of my own, but did you know that my wife and I have an Indonesian Child? No, he doesn't stay with us. No, we have never spoken to him. And no, we haven't ever seen him in real life. Our child is a child we sponsor through Compassion (www.compassion.com.au).

Today in the mail I surprisingly received a letter from him. I say 'surprisingly' because it is the third letter we have received from him within the last month (usually we get a letter every 3 or so months).

When I read these letters that come, there are two things that really stand out. Firstly, whilst he lives in severe poverty, and in many ways we would say he, and his family, is disadvantaged, our sponsor child is still a boy with dreams and aspirations. No matter what situation he is in, he still dreams about what could be, and strives towards these things. We, in the wealthy western world are often a people who get discouraged, who lack perseverance, and who lack a sense of vision. We live in a country that provides us with so many opportunities, where we can choose where we want to live, who we want to be, the career we want to have etc, but we are never satisfied - we are never content with what we have. My sponsor child is teaching me what it means to be content.

Finally, whilst the stress upon my sponsor child's family would be high, not once does he have anything bad to say about his family. Instead, all he can do is praise and love his family, and be eager to spend more time with them. In the letter I received today, he mentioned how he was on school holidays, and how he wanted to go away, but unfortunately couldn't due to a lack of money. However, his excitement in this letter is then turned to the fact that he can spend more time playing with his siblings. We, in the western world, are seeing more and more families being torn apart. There are more and more people who don't want to spend quality time with their parents, their partners, their brothers and sisters, their children. In fact, the busier we get in life often means that we spend even less time with our families. Now don't get me wrong - I love my family and I see them regularly, but it is still a challenge for many, in our individualistic world. My sponsor child is teaching me what it means to be involved in a family - to be joyful in spending time with them.

When I think about it, the $44 a month that it costs to help this boy, and his family, get enough food, receive education, and know about Christ, is not a sacrifice for me at all. After all, my mobile phone bill (just for me) costs me more than that per month. The money leaves our bank account almost unnoticed. But what I do notice though, is that for $44 a month I have a connection to a child living in Indonesia, who has none of the luxury items I have, and whom lives in severe poverty, and what I receive out of it is a new outlook on life. I see what it is like to live in such a desperate situation, but to still find joy in life. I see what it is like to have no money, but instead to have a close, loving family where they celebrate spending time together. I see what it is like to have nothing - to have no material blessings - but to still be able to praise our amazing Lord and Saviour for all he has given us.

For those of you who don't sponsor a child, the question is "Will you commit to it?" There are many organisations that provide Child Sponsorship (Compassion, World Vision, ChildFund, Salvation Army etc). Will you make that commitment to change a child's life forever?

Comment below on how God has been challenging you in this, or on your Child Sponsorship stories.

Disclaimer: The blog entries on this website represent the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of this Church.

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